The Ames Reflectance Meter was the first blood

glucose meter A glucose meter, also referred to as a "glucometer", is a medical device for determining the approximate concentration of glucose in the blood. It can also be a strip of glucose paper dipped into a substance and measured to the glucose chart. ...

. It allowed patients with

diabetes Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level (hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ...

to self-monitor their

blood glucose Glycaemia, also known as blood sugar level, blood sugar concentration, or blood glucose level is the measure of glucose concentrated in the blood of humans or other animals. Approximately 4 grams of glucose, a simple sugar, is present in the bl ...

levels. The Ames Reflectance Meter was developed in 1970 by Anton H. Clemens. It had a needle that indicated the intensity of blue light reflected from a paper strip, called Dextrostix. The meter gave a quantitative number that was correlated with glucose levels in blood that the Dextrostix was exposed to. The Dextrostix was developed about a decade earlier. It was a paper strip with chemistry immobilized onto it. When the paper strip was dipped into blood, it changed color to a shade of blue. The exact shade of blue was dependent on the level of glucose in the blood. The meter weighed about 3 pounds and sold for $650. It was initially marketed to physician's offices, not patients. One man with diabetes,

Richard K. Bernstein Richard K. Bernstein (born June 17, 1934) is a physician and an advocate for a low-carbohydrate diabetes diet to help achieve normal blood sugars for diabetics. Bernstein has type 1 diabetes. His private medical practice in Mamaroneck, New York ...

, managed to buy one because his wife was a physician. He used the machine to map out the daily fluctuations in his blood glucose levels. This knowledge allowed him to manage his diet and

insulin Insulin (, from Latin ''insula'', 'island') is a peptide hormone produced by beta cells of the pancreatic islets encoded in humans by the ''INS'' gene. It is considered to be the main anabolic hormone of the body. It regulates the metabol ...

injections better to maintain steady, normal blood glucose levels.

References

{{reflist Glucose Diabetes-related tests